Cooked Green Beans=Safe

[mikeinri]

How long should green beans be cooked so they are safe for chickens?

I want to give my ladies a balanced diet while eliminating store bought feed in the process. Grean beans are at the top of the list of easy foods to grow.

 

[maggiec1951]

My girls don't like them cooked, they prefer them raw.

 

[dainerra]

why cook them at all? if you are growing them just for the chickens, don't use pesticides and just pluck them off the vine and straight to the birds. At the end of the growing season (or if you get one with a bad bug infection) just pull the whole thing up and toss it in the run.

 

[florida lee]

When my mom snapped beans she threw the left overs into the run, no need to cook.

 

[mikeinri]

They have a toxic substance called Solanine

Dried or undercooked Beans Raw, or dry beans, contain a poison called hemaglutin which is toxic to birds. This is removed by cooking but I can't find how long to cook it.

 

[ChickensAreSweet]

I would think that you would cook them until done like for people, but don't know for sure.

 

[Ariel301]

I have given my birds raw green beans in fairly large quantities pretty regularly and never had a problem. I've also given them literally bucketloads of dry beans in one serving. Never had a bird get sick or die afterwards.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
I've not heard about green beans having solanine.

The hemaglutin is in dried beans not fresh. Just regular cooking will remove the poison. Soak and cook like you would for yourself. They are worse if they are undercooked. I'm not sure how dangerous they are for chickens, but 4-5 beans can put a human in the hospital. It is rare to hear of this in the US. More common in other parts of the world that eat more dried beans.

Imp

 

[mikeinri]

Quote:
I've not heard about green beans having solanine.

The hemaglutin is in dried beans not fresh. Just regular cooking will remove the poison. Soak and cook like you would for yourself. They are worse if they are undercooked. I'm not sure how dangerous they are for chickens, but 4-5 beans can put a human in the hospital. It is rare to hear of this in the US. More common in other parts of the world that eat more dried beans.

Imp

The sites I have read say both dry AND raw beans.

6. Lastly, never give your pet bird dry or raw beans. Dry or raw beans contain a poison called hemaglutin. Hemaglutin is not a concern after the beans are cooked so if you want to give beans to your bird, cook them first.

http://petsdoo.com/tag/hemaglutin-green-beans

10. Dried Beans
Cooked beans are a favorite treat of many birds, but raw, dry bean mixes can be extremely harmful to your pet. Uncooked beans contain a poison called hemaglutin which is very toxic to birds

http://birds.about.com/od/feeding/tp/poisonousfoods.htm

There are a lot of sites, not just one that say the same thing. Although it is not as high of a content we are talking about 6 pound animals and not humans.

Raw beans are not a good thing to give birds. I read one site that says boil for 10 minutes and a second that says 30. I would prefer information from a University site to confirm that I can make them safe.

They are a great supplement for feed and also amend the garden soil.

My objective/project this next spring is to cut the need for feed and increase the health of the flock with easy to grow garden foods.

 

[Imp]

Quote:
I've not heard about green beans having solanine.

The hemaglutin is in dried beans not fresh. Just regular cooking will remove the poison. Soak and cook like you would for yourself. They are worse if they are undercooked. I'm not sure how dangerous they are for chickens, but 4-5 beans can put a human in the hospital. It is rare to hear of this in the US. More common in other parts of the world that eat more dried beans.

Imp

The sites I have read say both dry AND raw beans.

6. Lastly, never give your pet bird dry or raw beans. Dry or raw beans contain a poison called hemaglutin. Hemaglutin is not a concern after the beans are cooked so if you want to give beans to your bird, cook them first.

http://petsdoo.com/tag/hemaglutin-green-beans

10. Dried Beans
Cooked beans are a favorite treat of many birds, but raw, dry bean mixes can be extremely harmful to your pet. Uncooked beans contain a poison called hemaglutin which is very toxic to birds

http://birds.about.com/od/feeding/tp/poisonousfoods.htm

There are a lot of sites, not just one that say the same thing. Although it is not as high of a content we are talking about 6 pound animals and not humans.

Raw beans are not a good thing to give birds. I read one site that says boil for 10 minutes and a second that says 30. I would prefer information from a University site to confirm that I can make them safe.

They are a great supplement for feed and also amend the garden soil.

My objective/project this next spring is to cut the need for feed and increase the health of the flock with easy to grow garden foods.

You are right. Mea Culpa! It appears that raw fresh green beans are mildly toxic. I work as a nutritionist and have never heard that, just dried beans. Probably because they are not very toxic to people.
I agree about wanting more reputable sources. I had a good link, I'll go look for it and post it here.

Thanks for the information- Knowledge is power

Imp- btw, I despise green beans. About the only vegetable I will not eat at all.

Now off to look for that link

The link was from the FDA about eating dried kidney beans so I don't think it would help you. I did see a reference to rats dying from being fed raw kidney beans.

Good luck with your project.